The Athletic watched AZ’s 6-0 demolition of Leipzig to try to understand what impact, if any, these potential rule changes might have. First things first: it did feel quicker. The first half did, at any rate. Referee Nick Smit, who had the dubious honour of enforcing the new rules, generally did a fine job although there was one instance where the ball went out for a Leipzig goal kick and the clock maintained its relentless march downwards. In real-time, the first 30 minutes lasted dead on 38; the second 30 took 48min 32sec, about as long as a normal half and with the ball in play for about as long. The ticking timer has a weird effect on one’s perception, though, and this probably affects the players even more. It injects a sense of hurry, with time ebbing away, rather than it being a long climb to the finish.
So, what did the game tell us, beyond the fact that AZ are worth a watch? Not much, in truth. The countdown clock works and seems like a more straightforward way of timekeeping anyway. Thirty-minute halves appear to give about the same quantity of ball-in-play time as a 45-minute half the old-fashioned way, too. As for the other changes, without being too “football data nerd” about it, how can one tell whether they were good or bad, or even did anything? Expecting a game to be quicker, with the funny heuristic trick of a ticking clock, means it’s likely a viewer will perceive it as such. But without data to compare how quickly either team normally move the ball, or how much they press, who knows?
In addition, the set-piece changes were obvious, but their tangible effects were not. Again, this is because coaches had very little time to devise anything clever but, should these rules come into effect, good teams will do exactly that, while lazy teams will continue to be lazy. Sin-binning made a huge difference and is perhaps too punitive. But, again, teams would likely adapt and make fewer tactical fouls; this would change the game, but whether such a change would be for the better very much depends on your view of what constitutes good or clever play. It will all take time to work out, though, and that would make for a confusing, potentially unsatisfying, transitional period.